


Charlie Grace

by Piper_Halliwell1979



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bottom Castiel, Dean's OCD, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Fake adoption, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mpreg, Nephilim, Post-Season/Series 12, Pregnancy craving, Pregnant Castiel, Smoker Dean, Smoker Mary, Top Dean, Wedding, no a/b/o
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 16:23:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9450152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piper_Halliwell1979/pseuds/Piper_Halliwell1979
Summary: Angels mate for life. Castiel is mated to Dean and it drives his grace to create an offspring of their union. This is a story of family and acceptance as they wait to welcome the newest Winchester into the world.





	

Cas didn't know how to tell Dean. They’d hunted down the nephilim spawn of Lucifer and Rowena had used powerful magicks to bind the boy’s celestial side. He could still be dangerous but for the most part he was an innocent child who would be raised by a hunter named Shelby and her wife Nomi. They’d been turned away by too many adoption agencies and had lost faith in any legal means of having children. Sam forged some papers and handed over little Luther.

 

Cas’ hand dropped to his stomach.  _ This shouldn't be happening. My body is human. _ But that wasn't how it worked with angels. His grace was expanding and forming into his own nephilim. His and  _ Dean's  _ nephilim. She would have a soul. He felt that forming inside him as well. He hoped his warding would keep them off the radar until she could be bound as well.

 

They never considered pregnancy as a possibility. For all intents and purposes they made love as two human males. They decided together to forego condoms. Dean actually thought it felt weirder to bareback after years of diligence with birth and disease control. Not like it mattered now. Enough of Dean's DNA found its way inside him to trigger his desire to mate.

 

It took them nine years to say the words they’d been skirting. It took less than nine minutes after their utterance for them to be completely nude and tangled together on Dean's bed. Years upon years of unresolved sexual tension died on that bed with two sweaty, panting lovers. That was months ago.

 

“You feeling okay, babe?” Dean looked over at his mate. He looked oddly pale and was clutching his stomach. “You look like you're gonna hurl.”

 

“I may. Please pull over.” Cas sprinted from the Impala to a nearby tree to lean against. Six weeks. He was six weeks pregnant today. The anxiety over how to tell Dean snowballed into how he’d react to Cas not telling him sooner. He lost the two cups of tea he’d consumed at the diner.

 

He felt a hand on his back move in comforting circles. Dean handed him a handkerchief from his suit pocket. “I’m worried about you. You’ve been sleeping lately but you look exhausted. You started eating again. Is it your grace?”

 

Cas wouldn't be lying if he answered to that. He had less access to his grace because it was busy building a tiny human. Half human. “Yes. I seem to have some strain on it. I will be fine, Dean. I will accompany you to the interview and stay at the hotel whilst you and Sam hunt.” Dean was more likely to agree when he offered to avoid danger.

 

“Okay. Just sip some water till we get there and let me know if we need to stop again.”

 

***

 

Apparently Sam and Mary forgot they were supposed to be at the morgue. A young widow found herself with four ‘agents’ in her living room. She was trying to get the two older children fed and dressed to go to her mother's and the baby screamed every time she tried to put him down in his swing.

 

“Let me,” Dean stepped in. He scooped up the baby and looked around for a diaper bag. He knew a wet diaper cry. Kid probably had a rash too. He changed the infant into a dry diaper with a fresh coat of butt paste and settled him down. 

 

“Oh my God, thank you! You must have a baby at home.” She tied the shoes of her other son and had them sit at the kitchen table with snacks. 

 

“Nah. Kid I raised is all grown up now. But you never forget some things like a wet cry from hungry or sleepy.” Dean boasted until he saw his mother tense up. 

 

“Well, there's still time for another. May have to sell you this one to cover Dave's funeral.”

 

Dean made a mental note to use some of their Charlie trust money to anonymously donate. She would have wanted that. “Set up a GoFundMe page. I’m sure strangers are out there ready to help a mom in need. Sorry we got our wires crossed and took over your home.”

 

He and Cas left so Sam and Mary could finish up. They were almost done when they crashed the fake fed party anyway. They could just compare notes at the hotel. “Still look rough, sweetheart. Anything I can do?”

 

Cas fidgeted. His nerves riled again. He was so touched at how Dean was with a stranger's child. He could just picture him with their own. Tears he wasn't aware of fighting streamed down both cheeks.

 

“Cas? Baby? Talk to me. You're scaring me here.” Dean reached to take his hand.

 

“Dean...I have to tell you something. I shouldn't have waited this long but I had to be sure.” Cas turned to face him. There was genuine fear in Dean's eyes. “There's another nephilim. She was created from the love between her parents.”

 

Dean was speechless. There was something Cas wasn't telling him. “Are you leaving me again? To find her?” His mouth and throat were dry.

 

“NO! No, I'm not leaving you. I know exactly where she is.” Cas took the hand he’d been holding and brought it to his torso. “I’m pregnant, Dean. Well, my grace is. She's being formed by part of mine which is why I'm more human lately. But I feel her soul as well.”

 

Silence. Deafening silence.

 

“Dean, please. Say something. Anything.” Cas pleaded.

 

“Baby. We’re having a...us? We made…? She?” Dean stammered.

 

“I should still be warded enough to keep her identity a secret. I should probably stay at home in the bunker after this case.” Cas was still anxious. The color had drained from Dean’s face but his hand never moved from Cas.

 

“How? I mean...how?”

 

“Angels mate for life. You, Dean, are my life mate, my husband. Our bond must have triggered my grace to want to have a child with you. Either parent could carry her if we were both angels or if you were a human female you could get pregnant.”

 

“Wow.” Dean pulled Cas closer to him. So much was running through his head. A baby. They were having a  _ baby _ together. And she was growing inside his beloved. “I wanna get married,” he blurted out. He thought what they had was great and had toyed with the idea of making it official.

 

“Dean, we don't have to. In my Father's eyes we are already one.” His logical side stated. His emotional human side was screaming “yes.”

 

“Baby, I wanna do this right. We get married and when she comes Sam can make us some adoption papers and nobody sees us as anything other than the family we are. Just two dudes who fell in love and wanted to share it with a tiny human.”

 

Cas thought it over. He could see himself standing beside Dean, exchanging vows and rings. They were “out” in the hunting community. They could be surrounded by their family and friends. They could do it before he started to show and take over Bobby duty at the bunker to have an excuse to stay home. He looked into Dean's hopeful green eyes. “Yes. I will marry you.”

 

***

 

They let Sam and Mary finish up the case. It was a shifter who killed poor Dave when he had been discovered as masquerading their neighbor. They’d begged off saying Cas’ grace was tapped out and Dean needed to care for him.

 

“So...was that morning sickness?” Dean asked him. He knew they were bending a shit load of rules so he didn't know how to play it.

 

“Nerves. My anxiety has been a bit heightened lately. Telling you, how you’d react, our safety…”

 

Dean took his hand in his own and gave a reassuring squeeze. “I’m a little overwhelmed but I'm happy. And this little one has the best hunters in the world to protect her. And a powerful witch. And an Uncle Crowley,” he teased. It drew a smile from his mate.

 

“Oh? Are you asking him to be her godfather?” Cas chided back. As insufferable as the man was, he had been a powerful ally and somewhat of a friend.

 

Dean guided Cas back onto the motel bed and held him tight. “How do you feel about the name ‘Charlie’?” He ran his fingers through the disaster Cas called hair.

 

“She was one of my favorite beings. I like the idea.” He tilted his head up for a quick peck to Dean's lips. He could still feel Dean's sorrow and loss when he spoke her name. “Charlie Winchester.”

 

Dean sighed. He missed his unbiological sister so much. She’d be the coolest aunt ever. There would be an endless supply of geek chic onesies and Charlie would read her The Hobbit. She'd drag her to these conventions and give her the facts of life speech when she was older. 

 

“What about you? What should her middle name be?” 

 

Cas rubbed his lower abdomen again. It was comforting. It would be weeks still before he felt more than the tugging and pulling at his grace. “Grace. So when she's bound it will still be part of who she is.”

 

Dean kissed him softly. She had a name. She had two fathers who already loved her. He couldn't wait to tell Sam. Mary, well she took longer to adjust to them as a couple. She was raised to believe hunters and the supernatural couldn't blur the lines. No friendships, no  _ partners _ . She wasn't even sure what to call the angel other than Castiel. 

 

He kissed Cas again, hesitantly. He was so deeply in love with him, more so now it felt. He wanted be closer to him, to feel the heat of his skin. He wanted to make love to him slow and easy. He was not the best with words but he could show Cas with a touch just how much he was loved and needed.

 

Cas pulled Dean over onto him, giving him the silent permission to continue. He had only known true desire with Dean. He’d flirted with lust and attraction but never the  _ need _ Dean brought out in him. Dean loved him, cherished him. He made Cas feel things on every level.

 

They’d already shed their suit coats and ties. Dean was so delicate plucking the buttons free. He placed small kisses on his chest and lowered to nuzzle into Cas’ stomach. The angel laughed and smiled as he ran his fingers through Dean's sandy hair.

 

Dean loosened his belt and went about removing Cas’ dress pants. He nosed against Cas’ growing erection through his boxers. Cas moaned softly and shifted his hips up. Dean peeled away the last of the cloth barrier between them and kissed up the hard shaft. He swirled his tongue around the head before taking it in, drawing a hiss from Cas.

 

He always took care of Cas first. The angel was so relaxed and calm when he opened him up. He would grind down on his fingers and make low content noises. By the time Dean entered him he was usually hard again and ready for Dean to make him come.

 

Dean liked taking his time with his angel. Of course there had been quickies in the back seat of the Impala and more than a few sexy time showers. But when they had a bed they could make love for an hour, just rocking together and feeling the slow drag of skin against skin.

 

Sweat would pool in the divot of Dean's lower back and Cas would give him chills with feather light touches up his spine. They kissed and caressed and proclaimed their love between sighs and grunts and moans. Sometimes Cas would roll them over and just grind himself down on Dean in slow circles of his hips until Dean pulled him down hard against him to finally come.

 

They clung to each other through the rush and subsequent fall. Dean rested his head on Cas’ chest and listened to the cadence of his heart. Every part of this body was Cas’ and he shared it with Dean. His thoughts returned to the baby. Now he was a part of Cas in a way he never imagined possible. He never thought they’d even have the chance to adopt a child together besides Claire and she was grown.

 

“You okay, angel?” Dean asked after they’d calmed.

 

“I’m fine, Dean. Making love isn't going to hurt me or Charlie. I can't use my grace to clean us up, though.”

 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I got you.” Dean reluctantly pulled away to wet a washcloth in the sink. He returned and gently wiped Cas down, patting him dry with a towel. He checked his phone for an update from his brother. “Fuck. They torched the body already and are headed back. Not ready for naked time to be over.”

 

“You're mother is quite an efficient hunter, Dean.” Cas sat up and reached for his discarded underpants. Dean whined when Cas tossed him his but he put them on anyway. Cas moved to retrieve more of their clothes but Dean got up instead. He went through their duffle bag and found some more suitable attire for dinner at some greasy spoon. 

 

Cas adjusted to the “lumberjack” look. He still teased Dean about that even as he rolled the sleeves on his own flannel over shirt. Dean would fix his collar and give him a quick kiss before telling him now they look like gay lumberjacks. Then he’d take his hand proudly.

 

“Are we telling people? I mean like Sam and Mom? A lot of couples wait till the second trimester to make the announcement. Or you know, we could just wait till you're ready to pop and say, ‘surprise!’”

 

Cas rolled his eyes. “I’m comfortable telling them whenever you are. And if we're getting married we should plan to do it before I start showing. I know Sam will take the news well.”

 

His unspoken words hung between them. Neither could be sure of Mary’s reaction. “Mom will learn to deal. She's still not used to modern hunting life. The whole Garth thing threw her too.”

 

“You're right, Dean. We should give her the chance to process it all after we tell them.” Cas zipped up his jeans in time to answer the knock at the door. Dean took the rest of his stuff to the bathroom. 

 

“Hey, Cas. Feeling any better?” Sam asked as he hugged him. “Dean said your grace was all wonky.”

 

“Somewhat. I know I'm hungry. Dean should just be a moment. Please come in.”

 

Mary looked at the suits still laying on the floor and at the rumpled bedclothes. She wondered if they just treated themselves to some afternoon delight. But Castiel did look tired. And he’d been eating lately. Not stealing a couple fries from Dean’s plate but actually eating what Dean ordered for him. Her mother instincts kicked in.

 

“Castiel? Is it possible for you to catch a cold or the flu? Your grace may be fighting a virus.” Mary put her wrist to his forehead. “You feel warm but not feverish.”

 

Dean emerged, fully dressed, from the bathroom. “Mom, lay off him. He's not sick. He just needs some rest and a big juicy cheeseburger or two. Don't you, babe?”

 

Cas caught the tiniest bit of their non verbal communication. Now was not the time and place to make their big announcements.

 

***

 

Turns out Cas needed two burgers, fries, a banana milkshake and two bites of Dean's pie. Sam watched with wide eyes as the angel ate like he did when they were hunting Famine. Something strange was going on and either Dean was oblivious or not talking about it.

 

“Family meeting!” Sam announced back at the motel. Mary sat at the desk. Sam paced in front of the couple sitting at the foot of their bed. “Something’s wrong here and you need to tell us about it so we can help you, Cas. We’re a family and family always has your back.”

 

Dean and Cas exchanged glances and a couple nods. They held each other's hands and Dean gestured for Cas to go ahead.

 

“As you know, Dean and I are mates. Angels mate for life and this has affected my grace. It became very receptive to creating an offspring. It is being drained somewhat to house and grow a nephilim. Dean and I are expecting.” He smiled at his beloved hunter.

 

Sam tilted his head like a big confused puppy. Mary wrung her hands, unable to speak. Just when she thought she had the whole nephilim thing figured out they threw this at her. 

 

“Is it safe?” She finally asked. “Carrying the baby. Will the other angels come after you?”

 

“No, Mary. I am tattooed with heavy warding and I plan to spend my confinement in the bunker. There have been no whispers from heaven regarding her existence in the past six weeks. And she will be bound just as Lucifer's son.”

 

Dean interjected. “I asked Cas to marry me. Like a real wedding and when she comes we’re going to pretend to adopt her. We were gonna wait a few days and tell you.”

 

“Her? I have a niece?” Sam let his grin spread from ear to ear. He dropped to his knees in front of them for a group hug in his massive arm span. He took the news exactly how the couple had expected, with exuberance. 

 

Mary stayed back. Her eyes misted as she stared out the window. Dean shrugged off the sasquatch to go to her. He hurt, ached. She was his mom and should be happy for him. It seemed to him all he did was hurt and confuse her more as she got to really know him.

 

“Mom, kind of thought we’d get a little support from you. This is big. I’m getting married, something I never saw happening. And by the grace of Chuck’s sister you get to be here to see it. You get to be here when your grandchild is born and hold her and sing to her...just say something.” Now Dean was getting emotional. 

 

“It’s a lot, Dean. It’s a lot for me to take in. I love Castiel, I do. I love how happy you make each other. I’m happy you can marry the man you love. This child...you know what we just went through with Kelly and Lucifer’s nephilim. That woman was nearly ripped to shreds and died for him to be born. She was hunted by far worse things than us, more powerful. I’m sorry but I can’t help having these fears for all of us.” She stood and left the room, presumably to spend some time alone in her own. Dean was left heartbroken as usual.

 

“Give her time, Dean,” Cas said gently.

 

“That’s all I’ve  _ been _ giving her, Cas. I need...I’m gonna go for a walk. I’ll be back in an hour.” He grabbed his jacket and gave Cas a quick peck on the lips. “Love you.”

 

Sam joined Cas on the bed. He put an arm around him for a brotherly side hug. “Sorry, Cas. Mom still doesn’t get us. I get it. I mean, you’ve been a Winchester longer than she has. You know what we can handle and if you’re one hundred percent sure about starting a family with Dean then I believe you.” He gave Cas a grin. “So you and Dean are getting hitched? We doing this lowkey or you guys want a big shindig?” He attempted to shift the mood.

 

“If we do it soon, before I suspiciously expand, I would like to invite our friends, hunting friends. I told Dean our union was already blessed by my Father but he said it lays the groundwork for a believable adoption. And I think he’ll be the Bridezilla, fussing over appetizers and a band…”

 

This drew a laugh from Sam. He pictured his brother having a meltdown if the tablecloths weren’t the perfect shade or fabric. Dean would never admit how bad his OCD could get sometimes but since he’d properly nested in the bunker Sam had witnessed a few tantrums over getting the wrong laundry detergent. This from the man who steam ironed with beer. Shirts were still pressed to perfection, though.

 

“I’m kinda glad you’re doing it. Not a lot of hunters get married and settle down. You and Dean are like the stuff of hunter fairy tales. You give us all hope it could happen someday. Think Claire’s gonna be cool being a big sister?”

 

Cas mused for a moment. “She will attempt to be passive aggressive at first but I believe she’ll be excited to have a real sibling. I may not be her father but the blood in my veins is common to hers.”

 

“You guys are gonna be great dads.”

 

***

 

Dean stopped into the corner liquor store. Normally he’d grab a fifth of something cheap and drown his anxiety in it. Instead he looked over the packs of smokes, a vice he’d rarely given into since Sam came back into his life twelve years ago. He shouldn’t take it up again, not with a baby coming. And Cas might get sick from just the smell of it on him. “Those e-cig things work?” he asked the heavily pierced young woman behind the counter.

 

“The normal tobacco ones taste like ass but the menthol ones are okay. You trying to quit or something?”

 

“Or something. Give me a kit and a couple refills.” He passed over the money and his ID and assembled the device out in the alley.

 

“Should have known you’d have the same vices as me. Same taste in men, liquor, music…” Mary said from further down the way. A puff of smoke came out with the words.

 

Dean took a drag from his plastic cigarette. “Didn’t know you smoked.”

 

She sighed and walked closer to him. “I quit when I found out about you. Took it back up recently. What about you? What is that thing?”

 

Dean pulled another puff. “Electronic cigarette. No nasty smell, no nicotine stains on my fingers. Not doing it around Cas. Not taking chances with the baby.”

 

Mary flinched at the ‘B’ word. “Did you even want kids? I saw how good you were with the kid earlier but to keep hunting? Babies are hard enough to deal with when they aren't half supernatural.”

 

Dean smirked. “You know, we’ve been dancing around this but...I raised my baby brother. I took care of him his whole fucking life when John was too drunk or out chasing the yellow eyed demon. I kept him fed and clothed and focused on school. I had to have a fake ID saying I was over eighteen so if CPS sniffed around it looked like I was legal enough to keep him.”

 

“Dean…”

 

“No. I raised a kid for eighteen years. And I was a better father to him than John ever was. And I was a good father to Ben, too.”

 

“Ben? Who's Ben?”

 

Dean puffed away, clearly agitated. “Ben’s my son. I had a wild weekend when I was nineteen and nine years later I drop in on her to find she's got an eight year old kid. She said he wasn't mine but a blind man could see he was. When Sam jumped in the cage I found them again and played house for a year before the life caught up with us. I had Cas wipe their memories of me when I almost lost them both to a demon. I never told anybody I sent off a DNA kit on him.”

 

Mary crushed her butt under her boot. She quickly lit another one. “He’d be in college now. I have a grandson.”

 

“And Claire. She's mine, too. Well, adopted. She thinks of me as her step-dad. This time me and Cas get to be there for all the good stuff. The first words and first steps. Watch her make faces when we try her on new foods. We’re getting a second chance to be the dads we want to be.”

 

“You really want this.” It came out as a sentence of acceptance instead of a question.

 

“Yeah, Mom. I do. I want all of it. And I want you to be happy for me.”

 

“I’m trying, Dean. I am. I just need time.”

 

“Well, you got about eight months.”

 

***

 

“Dude, this is the lamest bachelor party ever,” Sam complained. It was him, Dean, Garth, Jesse, and Cesar sitting around a table in a dive bar with beer and atomic hot wings.

 

“You’re only saying that because you're the only single guy here,” Dean countered. “We’re just hanging out here so Cas can have his even lamer party with Mom and Jody and the girls. They're probably making toilet paper veils or some shit.”

 

***

 

The girls had a stripper named Austin and several daquiris. Mary kept volunteering to refresh Cas’ drinks so he could have the same non-alcoholic ones as Claire and Alex without anyone noticing. The others would think he just had a very high tolerance for booze because he was an angel. He was grateful for that.

 

The party wound down close to midnight when everyone but Cas and Mary were conked out.

 

“You nervous about tomorrow, Castiel?” Mary asked. She’d made them tea and they sat quietly in the kitchen.

 

“I suppose I am. Dean has spent weeks putting this all together and making it perfect.  All I care about is saying, ‘I do’.”

 

Mary pulled a white handkerchief with blue roses embroidered on it from her jeans pocket and handed it to him. “This was my grandmother's. She kept it tucked into the sleeve of her dress on her wedding day. My mother did the same. I had it in my bra for mine. And now I'm passing it on to you. Someday you might give it to your daughter.”

 

“Mary, I don't know what to say.”

 

“I meant what I said to Dean. I love you. You are another son to me and tomorrow you make it official. I know I’ve had trouble processing this new world I live in but I’ve never doubted the love you and Dean have for one another. This baby, my granddaughter, was created by that love and I’ve come to accept that.”

 

“Thank you, Mary. That means a lot to me.”

 

***

 

Sam threatened to shoot Dean with a tranquilizer dart no less than three times before he got him dressed and standing at the altar in the Elks Lodge. He was a bundle of nerves despite the fact that he’d been ‘angel married’ for the better part of a year. The man had looked into the faces of God and Lucifer and sassed them both. He survived forty years in Hell. You’d think he could repeat after Jody and slip a ring on a guy's finger.

 

Cas was nearly literally glowing as Claire escorted him down the aisle. She had on a beautiful slate fitted pantsuit and matching boutonniere to her ‘dads’ and uncle Sam. She kissed them both on the cheek and stood back with Dean's ring in her pocket.

 

Somehow both world weary hunters cried and let their voices break as they professed their eternal love and devotion to one another. Some other vets in witness may have sniffled as well. Even Crowley. He thought the day would never come that the star-crossed lovers finally got their heads out of their asses.

 

And in typical Dean fashion he made a grand gesture of the kiss by dipping Cas and nearly making out with him. Cas didn't even blush. Dean was his entire world at that moment. Nothing else mattered but being formally referred to as ‘Mr. Winchester’.

 

A ton of pictures were taken. Dean danced with his new husband, his new daughter, his mom, Jody, and Donna. He raved over the catering, total food snob that he is. He and Cas faked the cake smashing and nailed Sam with it instead. At least they licked the frosting off each other's hands. And through more slight of hand from Mary Cas only drank sparkling cider.

 

The newlyweds left the reception first and Dean drove them out to Jody’s cabin in the woods. She agreed they could use it for a week as long as they fixed anything they broke and left it spotless. She threatened to charge them for crime scene clean up services.

 

They made love a few times that night. Dean built a fire and made a soft pallet of quilts and pillows on the floor. He fell asleep that night admiring the shiny silver band on his finger as his splayed his hand across Cas’ chest.

 

***

 

On their last day at the cabin Dean was woken up with a start. Cas was shaking him awake and calling out his name. “Wha-? What happened? You okay?”

 

Cas had tears streaming down his face and he was clutching the slight swell of his abdomen. Dean went into panic mode before Cas grabbed his hand and held it there as well. He felt the tiniest flutter. “She’s moving, Dean! She woke me up. I needed you to feel it too.”

 

Dean sniffled back his own surge of emotion. He couldn't believe he was here for this, feeling her first little kicks. He remembered putting his head on his mother's belly to feel Sammy move around. He laid down close to Cas’ baby bump. “Hey, Charlie girl. It's your daddy. Well, one of your daddies.” He placed a gentle kiss there and Cas lovingly stroked his hair as they shared in their first pregnancy milestone.

 

***

 

“You don’t even like watermelons,” Dean argued as he slid out of bed and pulled his jeans on. 

 

“Well right now I do and if I had the grace to conjure one I would.” Cas couldn't sleep. Charlie had been kicking at his bladder and now he had a craving. 

“Fine. It's thirty minutes to Walmart. I’ll be back in an hour.” Dean just kept on the tshirt he’d worn to bed and slipped on his dead guy slippers. He wasn't the first half asleep husband to go out at two in the morning for a pregnancy craving.

 

He got a text as he pulled into the parking lot. Now Cas wanted some chunky peanut butter to eat with it. It couldn't be hormones. Must be the diminished grace giving his taste buds a run for their money.

 

He shuffled to the express lane and set down the watermelon and jar of peanut butter. He snagged an energy drink for the drive home.

 

“Second trimester?” The cashier asked.

 

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

 

“Slippers, bed hair, energy drink, not your typical munchie food…”

 

“Nineteen weeks. First craving. Guess you’ll be seeing a lot of me for a while.”

 

“First baby?”

 

“Second if you count me raising my baby brother. Mom died when he was six months old.”  _ Why the fuck did I tell her that? _

 

“Sorry. But first pregnancy?” She asked uncertainly.

 

“For both of us. I know what to do when she gets here, just not while she's still in the oven.”

 

“You're having a girl? Do you have a name yet?”

 

“Charlie. Charlie Grace. Named her after my unbiological sister.”

 

“That’s so sweet. Well, good luck and I hope you don't get run too ragged.”

 

Dean cradled the hefty melon and started home to his husband. He went ahead and carved it up for him and brought him some chunks in a bowl along with his jar of Jif. Cas’ eyes lit up before he set about devouring his strange snack.

 

***

 

“Sam! Sam I can't get off the couch.” Cas called to his brother in law. He felt huge and miserable. Dean was off buying more things for the nursery. Cas felt like he had to pee every thirty minutes. He’d be so glad when he had his grace back and felt less human. He could do without the bodily functions and heartburn from having his abdomen full of a tiny being.

 

Sam was happy to help him up and even walk him down the hall to the bathroom. He’d joined Dean in semi-retirement just so Cas could have someone home with him at all times. The baby could come at any time and they still felt far from prepared.

 

Cas told them it was going to be a difficult birth. Dean or Sam would need to use the angel blade and carefully cut into his abdomen like a c-section. They would have to reach in and take the baby out and if he didn’t begin to heal he would need to be stitched up. It would be bloody and terrifying, nothing like they had experienced before. 

 

Mary offered to assist them. As a teen she’d found herself acting as a midwife when a pregnant survivor had been staying in a Campbell safe house. Her mother couldn't make it in time so she helped deliver a little boy. And someone had to keep a level head because if Dean was anything like John he would be a mess.

 

***

 

“It’s time.” Cas said. He was calm. He didn't require labor to feel the pull at his grace lessen. She was ready, her own grace and soul fully formed. He sat patiently on the sofa whilst his family proceeded to lose their collective shit.

 

Mary spread a tarp over the war room table, then some towels, and a pillow for Cas to rest his head on. Sam set up a suture kit he swiped from a hospital and grabbed a box of gloves for everyone. Dean got the angel blade and checked to see if his hands were steady.

 

It took both the brothers to assist Cas to and on the table. He found himself calming and reassuring his husband despite the reverse to be the norm for a delivery. Mary filled a basin with warm water and set it beside a stack of towels. She would take the baby and clean her up. 

 

All of the Winchesters were pretty much field medics. They had undergone and performed makeshift surgeries in motels, automobiles, safe houses...they could do this. Mary held Cas’ hand as Dean coated the incision area with betadine and made the cut.

 

He had to go deep enough to cut through muscle. Blood gushed from the wound as well as blue white light. Sam held the wound open wide enough for Dean to get his hands in to pull out his daughter, still encased in her amniotic sac. He used the blade to free her then handed her over to his mother. She clamped and cut the cord and suctioned her airways till a shrill cry filled the room.

 

“Dean?” Cas said weakly. He wasn't losing any more blood but he wasn't healing yet. Sam worked swiftly to get him stitched up.

 

“I’m right here, baby. You did good. Hear that? She's here!” Dean held his hand and kissed all over his face.

 

Mary swaddled her in one of the clean towels and handed her to Cas. Baby Charlie touched her tiny hand to his face and his wound sped up its healing. She was using her grace on instinct to help her father.

 

“She’s beautiful, Cas.” Dean stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “We did this. We made a baby.” He wiped tears from his cheeks. He tousled the wild dark hair on her head. Just like her other daddy.

 

Sam cleaned up the betadine from Cas’ now fully healed belly. He gathered anything blood soaked and stuffed it in a trash bag. Mary cleaned up her area as well whilst the new family bonded. She had to admit that the sight of them was truly beautiful.

 

Cas handed his daughter over to Dean. All he could do was smile as he gently rocked her in his arms. Sam reached for her next and despite his usual uneasiness around kids. Seeing the tiny infant suck at her fist just melted his heart. 

 

Mary appeared from the kitchen with a warm bottle of formula. Sam passed her over and she drank greedily as any human child would. “Hello, angel. I’m your grandma.” She kissed Charlie's forehead and softly hummed a little Hey Jude.

 

Sam dialed Crowley. They had to bind her quickly before anyone sensed her being. She was no longer shielded by Castiel's tattoo, just the warding of the bunker. The King of Hell appeared with his mother Rowena in tow.

 

The witch brought her spell ingredients and chanted. “You are safe now, wee one.” She allowed herself a smile. She sensed nothing but good from her, unlike the boy nephilim. The part of him she bound was full of powerful darkness until she’d cut his access to it.

 

“May I?” Crowley asked. Mary looked to the parents for their approval. With dual nods she let the demon hold her. “Look at you. Next generation of trouble for my lot. You wouldn't hurt Uncle Crowley, would you, love?” He gave her back to Dean and snapped his fingers to leave.

 

“Uncle Crowley?” Sam said with some disgust.

 

“He can be the creepy uncle while you're the fun one.” Dean replied. “I can't wait for everyone to meet her.”

 

***

 

They decided to wait a month before calling a family meeting. Sam laid a digital trail on the Web to look like she was the only survivor of a home invasion that would smell like something supernatural to other hunters. He forged adoption papers for Dean and Cas.

 

Jody brought the girls, not knowing what to expect when they got there. Cas had kept in touch with Claire by Skyping so she’d never see the growing belly in person. They hated having to keep Charlie's true parentage a secret from their extended family. Maybe someday Claire would know the tiny human was indeed her half-sibling.

 

Dean waited for them to settle comfortably before going to the nursery to bring out his little princess. He returned with the small bundle in his arms and watched as jaws dropped. “Jody, Alex, Claire...we’d like you to meet Charlie Grace Winchester.”

 

“You adopted a baby?” Jody stood to get a better look at her. “She’s so beautiful!” Dean easily passed her over.

 

Jody cooed at her and gave Dean a kiss on the cheek. He beamed at them. Alex held her next and Jody warned the teen not to get any ideas. She wasn't ready to be a grandmother and made sure her foster daughters got the point. Claire took her and just studied her.

 

“I guess I'm your big sister,” she said. Cas came up behind her and put an arm around her. He smiled wide at her acceptance of her role in their family. He’d long considered her his daughter as well.

 

Mary quietly slipped away so Dean followed her. “You were right, Dean. All I see when I look at her is love. I'm sorry it took me so long to accept that. I treated her existence like a mission, always protecting Castiel. You’ve both been such wonderful parents to her.” She stared out at nothing. “I wish John was here to see her. The John I knew, the one I married. He’d love being a grandfather.”

 

Dean nodded. “I wish Bobby was here. He’d love being a grandpa, too.”

 

Mary hooked her arm around Dean's and leaned her head against it. “Maybe this is the start of a better chapter for the Winchesters. She brought me back to you and Sam. She makes me take each day as a blessing.”

 

“I’m glad you were here. You get to see her grow up and do all the things you missed out on Sam and me doing.”

 

“Me too, Dean. Me too.”

 

***

 

Charlie's first word was, ‘pie’. 

  
  



End file.
